any Thai chefs out there? i have a coconut question...

[He Man]

whats wrong with the meat? or rather, where do u live?

[mstevens]

DesmoLu is right.

Coconut doesn't "taste like coconut." I've never, ever opened up a young coconut and had anything that tastes like what most people think is "coconut flavor." We have a stump outside and a machete specifically for opening young coconuts, and we've made our own coconut milk from mature ones, so I feel pretty confident on this one.

Get a really good can of Thai non-light coconut milk. Pour the contents out into a bowl and let it warm, then stir it well. Taste it. That's pretty much what coconut in a curry tastes like - it's more of a carrier than a pronounced flavor itself.

Oh, and you can ride to the asian market on your Monster to buy coconut milk.

[Bergweiserus]

Back to the question of the coconut flavor....
To get the real coconut flavor you need high quality coconut milk. None of that "Light" stuff and pretty much nothing with English writing on it. Find your nearest Asian market and buy it there (it's much cheaper too). Also, make coconut rice for your curry - use a can of coconut milk in place of half of the water in your jasmine rice.
You also need to use the proper Asian spices to bring out the flavor - subtle but key. Asian Fish Sauce and Kaffir lime leaves go a long way in giving you the authentic flavor + lemongrass. Some of the ingredients are tough to find if you don't go to an Asian market. Try to find real cane sugar for your curry as well as American sugar has no flavor but the sweetness overpowers the subtle coconut flavors.
Most importantly, whatever you do, do NOT use coconut extract. There is not such thing as real coconut extract - it's imitation. It will give your food that weird fake taste that can only be tasty with massive amounts of sugar and your curry will be about as authentic as the requisite Asian dish from the Cheesecake factory menu.

yes, that helps a ton.  you are right, i did some experimenting with 'first press' coconut milk against the 'lite' stuff i've been using, and it's like night and day; it is exactly the amount of flavor i was missing.   next off, i will have to get some non-US coco-milk at the market.

i've been using lots of lemon grass & kaffir leaves, but i haven't been using cane sugar- thanks again for the great tips!

Oh, and you can ride to the asian market on your Monster to buy coconut milk.

SWEET!   

[He Man]

if there is something specific you need but cant find, let me know. i can ship some of it to you in flat rate and just jam crazy whatever you want in there. Living in a major city with a large asian population = access to all sorts of crazy shit that finds their ways into shipping containers....

[DrDesmo]

Back to the question of the coconut flavor....

To get the real coconut flavor you need high quality coconut milk. None of that "Light" stuff and pretty much nothing with English writing on it. Find your nearest Asian market and buy it there (it's much cheaper too). Also, make coconut rice for your curry - use a can of coconut milk in place of half of the water in your jasmine rice.
You also need to use the proper Asian spices to bring out the flavor - subtle but key. Asian Fish Sauce and Kaffir lime leaves go a long way in giving you the authentic flavor + lemongrass. Some of the ingredients are tough to find if you don't go to an Asian market. Try to find real cane sugar for your curry as well as American sugar has no flavor but the sweetness overpowers the subtle coconut flavors.

Most importantly, whatever you do, do NOT use coconut extract. There is not such thing as real coconut extract - it's imitation. It will give your food that weird fake taste that can only be tasty with massive amounts of sugar and your curry will be about as authentic as the requisite Asian dish from the Cheesecake factory menu.

Hope that helps!

+1

... But I still like the thai lettuce wraps @CF damn it 

[Fresh Pants]

Berg, you're cracking me up. 

[Bergweiserus]

if there is something specific you need but cant find, let me know. i can ship some of it to you in flat rate and just jam crazy whatever you want in there. Living in a major city with a large asian population = access to all sorts of crazy shit that finds their ways into shipping containers....

Awesome!  thank you....i'll let you know.

Berg, you're cracking me up. 

   

...we have to go riding; i'll be out there permanently
by the 16th/17th of July!

[Fresh Pants]

Awesome!  thank you....i'll let you know.


   

...we have to go riding; i'll be out there permanently
by the 16th/17th of July!

Excellent. 

[brimo]

The big secret in using that coconut milk is to cook it til it splits before adding your other ingredients, you just won't get that authentic Thai flavor without doing that.
I usually skim the thick "cream" off the top of the can, cook that til it splits then throw in the meat and the rest of the coconut milk and go from there.
Oh yes, you want palm sugar  for the authentic taste.
If you can get Mae Ploy brand spice pastes particularly their red curry and green curry paste, they are as near as you'll get to the authentic taste out of a jar.

[brix821]

try serving over some coconut rice!  Nice to see you round these parts friend

[DesmoLu]

+1

... But I still like the thai lettuce wraps @CF damn it 

hmmm, those are damned good but there's no coconut flavor in them!

[Bergweiserus]

The big secret in using that coconut milk is to cook it til it splits before adding your other ingredients, you just won't get that authentic Thai flavor without doing that.
I usually skim the thick "cream" off the top of the can, cook that til it splits then throw in the meat and the rest of the coconut milk and go from there.
Oh yes, you want palm sugar  for the authentic taste.
If you can get Mae Ploy brand spice pastes particularly their red curry and green curry paste, they are as near as you'll get to the authentic taste out of a jar.

hmmmm....splits?  do you mean it will start coming apart into two or more distinct components?  is this accomplished by simmering? 

thanks for the 'Mae Ploy' tip....i'm going to look on the internets for online ordering 

Nice to see you round these parts friend

thanks brother!  you too...   

[brimo]

hmmmm....splits?  do you mean it will start coming apart into two or more distinct components?  is this accomplished by simmering? 

Yep just keep cooking the cream until there is two distinct parts, the oil will seperate from the rest.

[Bergweiserus]

Yep just keep cooking the cream until there is two distinct parts, the oil will seperate from the rest.

thanks!! i'm well on my way to coconut heaven     

[JEFF_H]

anybody else buying this conversation that berg is cooking with coconut?

You know he heard somewhere that if you fill your bong with coconut milk instead of water it tastes killer, man.